Back in Wistover, the situation was changing rapidly. The mages had brought back dozens of former captives, as well as a handful of captive mages, all of whom needed to be placed somewhere, and in some cases, they also needed protective custody, which was beyond what the jail could offer.

It was never designed for holding mages.

So, the Duskblade Sect was overwhelmed with new arrivals, all of whom needed special treatment, and they didn’t have enough healers to deal with all of the injuries.

That meant that when the Paladins returned to town, they were swamped with requests for assistance, and the Cygnia Royals were left with only a few men each, while the rest were sent to help with the wounded.

Then, the soldiers started to return, with even more wounded. Dominic could already see that this was going to be a long night for everyone, even those who had no particular healing or comfort related skills.

The tailors, the techno wizards, the carriage makers, Pops. Every shop in town was flooded with repair orders, and requests for new items that the soldiers hadn’t been able to afford before today.

The Adventurers were silently celebrating the fact that they had been the first to return, as their orders would be the first ones filled. But there was no way that the craftsmen in town could possibly fill all the requests that they were getting.

The start of the economic issues from adding thousands of higher level monster cores to the economy had started, and Dominic could only imagine what was going to happen when a Merchant Caravan came along to buy up the unwanted magical items.

They would not be at all prepared for the level of offers they were going to receive.

However, this was nothing new to the Adventurer’s Guild.

Monster hunting was hit or miss, so they often had a huge stock of items held on consignment, waiting for someone to purchase them. It was the only way that they could keep a sufficient stock without getting into the weapons reselling business.

The Guild wasn’t interested in that. But they would happily hold onto weapons for sale, so that Adventurers could sell to each other, and have the money applied to their Guild account to be picked up wherever they were.

Many would place weapons for consignment in the big cities, then move along to the next mission, and eagerly await someone’s purchase of their gear for a much better price then they would get from a wholesale weapons reseller.

"Lord Dominic, we have your share of the monster cores from the trip. Would you like them now?" The Guild Master asked as Dominic returned to the Manor.

"I didn’t expect to see you so soon, but sure, I’ll take my share now if you’ve got it with you. What brings you by?" Dominic replied, startled to see the Dwarf outside of his office.

"Just the usual minor issues. I wanted a direct answer on what is happening with the monster population. Are there going to be more? Should we request another batch of Adventurers? Are we expecting ongoing profits?" He replied.

Dominic smiled. "There is a chance that we will see an ongoing monster spawn in the area. There is a ritual at the core of the army that we couldn’t eliminate. However, we don’t know what it does, so it might not be summoning monsters.

We left a scout team, and they’ve got an airship nearby to relay messages, so just keep your radio on and you’ll get real time updates.

As for calling more adventurers, that might be a good idea even if the current issue is resolved.

There have always been a lot of monsters in this region, and that probably hasn’t changed at all, even with Dagos trying to herd them into one spot for their missions."

The Guild Master nodded. "I see. Well, I will hold off for a few days, until we have solid information from the scouts, so that I don’t call too few or too many here for the missions that we’re going to have.

My Guild Members might take on small missions like helping the wood cutters when they’re short on work, but it would be hard on my reputation if I actually called them here for that level of employment."

"I understand. How are the others doing? I know that there were some serious injuries when they returned." Dominic asked.

"All patched up. We’ve also got a team of Clerics from Cygnia City coming to set up in the Guild House. Wistover might not be the most religious of towns, but they’re an asset to have around, and the Guild always needs the healers.

They are also members, so they’ll be going out on missions with the others, if the situation calls for it.

That was a direct request from Miss Bella, when she returned.

That woman is a difficult one to argue with, let me tell you."

Dominic laughed at the Dwarf’s annoyance. "I know, I’ve met her before. In fact, the mana revolver that she was carrying when she arrived in town was one that I made.

The new ones are as well, but I’m sure you already guessed that."

That reminded him, there was a lot of outstanding debt for the weapons that had been purchased on credit for the mission, and Bella still had a pair of Rare Grade mana revolvers with her on loan.

He should collect them, or go get payment soon.

"Other than that, we have had requests from many in town for trade skill cores, and I wanted to make sure that you didn’t have a problem with the commoners and farm workers getting them.

Many Lords restrict what skill cores go out on their territory, and who can get them. But you don’t have any work camp farmers or indentured workers, do you?"

Dominic shook his head, then amended his answer. "Well, I have a few indentured workers in town, but none of them are farmers, and I don’t restrict their trade skill options.

The Carpenter’s family still owes a little, but they’ll have it paid soon. And a few of the maids are on debt contracts. They wanted money for family before they left home, you see.

Those will also be paid off soon, the wages here in Wistover are pretty good."

That made the old Dwarf laugh. "Indeed. With so much going on, and most of them working for the Royal Family, I can see how a debt contract would be a small matter."